Solution
Safeguarding Children+
One shared platform to help, protect and promote the welfare of children.
Make Time Count used the 2026 Working together to protect children report to design their approach to help local authorities, police, health, education and safeguarding partners work together around the child. From early help to strategy discussion and ongoing protection, Safeguarding Children+ supports safer, faster and more coordinated decisions for children and families.
Why it matters
The challenge
Fragmented information — no single practitioner can see the full picture when records, notes and actions sit across different systems.
Complex multi-agency accountability — safeguarding relies on police, local authority, health, education, VCSE and specialist partners working from the same facts.
Meeting and action tracking — strategy discussions, reviews and multi-agency meetings need clear decisions, ownership, timescales and follow-up.
Limited evidence of impact — leaders need live insight into demand, timeliness, thresholds, interventions, outcomes and learning.
The journey
Safeguarding Children+ case journey
| Step | What happens | Platform functionality | Value & outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Concern or referral raised | A concern is identified by a school, police officer, health practitioner, early help worker, housing provider, family member or community partner. | Referral forms capture source, context, immediate safety concerns, child and family details, previous contact, known risks, voice of the child and supporting documents. | Concerns are captured consistently at the first point of contact, reducing missed information and giving triage teams a clearer starting point. |
| 2. Triage and immediate safety check | The receiving team reviews the concern, checks whether immediate action is required and decides whether more information is needed. | Configurable triage workflow, local threshold prompts, risk flags, safeguarding alerts, document upload, internal notes and supervisor review. | Supports faster prioritisation, clearer thresholds and a defensible record of how decisions were made. |
| 3. Multi-agency information gathering | Relevant agencies contribute information to build a fuller picture of the child’s life, family context, risks and protective factors. | Role-based partner access, secure information requests, in-platform messaging, structured agency updates and audit trail of information sharing. | Creates a more complete picture, reduces duplication and supports timely, lawful and proportionate information sharing. |
| 4. Pathway decision | The partnership decides whether the child needs universal support, community-based early help, Family Help, child in need support, a strategy discussion or child protection activity. | Configurable decision pathways, threshold guidance, rationale capture, supervisor approval and automated task creation. | Helps the right help reach the child at the right time and makes pathway decisions transparent and evidence-based. |
| 5. Assessment and plan | Practitioners assess needs, risks, strengths and family circumstances, then create a plan with clear actions and outcomes. | Assessment templates, whole-family profile, child voice fields, strengths and worries, action plans, assigned owners, due dates and review points. | Keeps the child at the centre while making support practical, measurable and accountable. |
| 6. Meeting, panel or strategy discussion | Where required, partners meet to analyse information, make decisions, agree immediate and short-term action, and identify who will do what by when. | Meeting scheduler, agenda builder, attendance log, decision recording, action tracker, document pack and follow-up reminders. | Improves preparation, supports multi-agency challenge and ensures agreed actions do not get lost after the meeting. |
| 7. Delivery and coordination of support | Support is delivered by the right mix of agencies, including family help, education, health, housing, domestic abuse, substance misuse, youth justice, VCSE or specialist services. | One-click referrals, partner onboarding, shared action plans, service directory, appointment reminders, secure messaging and mobile updates. | Wraps support around the family, improves coordination and gives practitioners live visibility of progress. |
| 8. Review, escalation or step-down | Progress is reviewed against the plan. Concerns can be escalated, support can be adjusted, or the case can step down when outcomes are achieved. | Review dates, RAG status, outcome tracking, escalation workflow, manager oversight and case closure checklist. | Creates a clear record of progress, reduces drift and helps ensure children are not left waiting when circumstances change. |
| 9. Reporting, learning and assurance | Leaders review demand, timeliness, thresholds, repeat contacts, intervention completion, outcomes and learning across the safeguarding partnership. | Dashboards, Power BI-ready data, audit exports, partner performance reporting and quality assurance views. | Gives leaders the evidence to understand what is working, address gaps and improve safeguarding arrangements over time. |
Core functionality
Built for the work, configurable to your model.
Child-centred case record
One authorised view of the child, family context, worries, strengths, risks, protective factors and voice of the child.
Multi-agency referrals and triage
Capture concerns from police, education, health, early help, housing, youth justice, VCSE and community partners in one place.
Threshold and pathway support
Configure local threshold documents, decision points and referral routes for early help, Family Help, section 17 and section 47 workflows.
Meetings, panels and strategy discussions
Prepare agendas, invite partners, record attendance, capture decisions and track actions after the meeting.
Information sharing and audit
Role-based access, secure messaging, document exchange, full audit trail and clear records of who shared, viewed or changed information.
Outcome dashboards
Monitor demand, timeliness, repeat referrals, actions, escalations, intervention completion and partnership performance.
Whole-family support coordination
Wrap support around the family with shared action plans, one-click referrals, service directory and mobile updates.
Assessment and planning
Structured assessments, strengths and worries, child voice fields, action plans, owners and review points keep support accountable.
Alerts and reminders
Risk flags, safeguarding alerts, review reminders and escalation prompts help teams respond at the right time.
Contextual safeguarding and exploitation
Record and review extra-familial risks, locations, peer networks and specialist referrals for contextual safeguarding work.
Quality assurance and audit
Audit exports, partner performance reporting and quality assurance views support inspection, learning and improvement.
Mobile access for practitioners
Field staff and partners can view cases, complete tasks, record updates and receive notifications from their device.
Outcomes
Measurable impact for your teams and partners.
- Earlier identification of safeguarding concerns and emerging needs.
- Faster, clearer information sharing between authorised partners.
- More consistent pathway decisions aligned to local thresholds.
- Better meeting preparation, decision recording and action tracking.
- A stronger child-centred record with whole-family context.
- Improved leadership oversight, auditability and evidence of impact.